Jessica frowned. “Don’t think ‘poor girl’ is an appropriate way to describe Sarah Stone. She has bigger chestnuts than you do.”
Mattock grinned. “Bloody right she does, but she’s a good egg deep down, I know it. Whatever monkey business her father’s into, she’s probably just been dragged along for the ride. Especially after what one of the analysts showed me.”
“What?” Howard quickly asked.
Mattock nodded at Jessica. “Show him.”
Jessica tapped a command into the laptop in front of her and one of the wall-mounted monitors started playing a video.
“We did what you told us to do,” Mattock explained. “We ran checks on all of Major Stone’s men who went AWOL with him. We got a hit on an active mobile phone at the time Sarah went missing. It was unregistered, but we ran voice analysis against all of Major Stone’s men and managed to match a phone call from Corporal Patrick Rattiger. His military record reads more like a rap sheet. At the time of his desertion he was up for court martial, accused of slaughtering unarmed prisoners taken from the ranks of a Taliban outshoot. He cut off both their hands and left them to bleed to death from the stumps. The mobile phone we traced is dead now so we can’t track it, but on the day Sarah went missing, Rattiger made a call outside Forest Glade Cemetery.”
Howard recognised the name immediately. “That’s where Bradley was buried.”
Bradley was a former colleague who had died during a previous mission when the Earthworm was attacked. He had been intending to quit but never got the chance.
Mattock pointed. “This is a CCTV feed from an office building across the road. Look at the top left of the picture.”
Howard leaned forward. “That’s Sarah! She was at Bradley’s funeral?”
“Looks like it,” said Jessica. “I don’t know why she didn’t come join the rest of us.”
“Maybe she was planning to,” said Mattock. “But watch what happens.”
Howard was agog as he watched Sarah’s father appear, flanked by two brutish men. Sarah didn’t see them until it was too late. She was struck on the head and bundled into the back of a familiar-looking black van, gone before she even knew what was happening.”
“Her father abducted her? But why?”
“We don’t know,” said Palu. “Nobody currently knows what is going on with Major Stone. He is a completely unknown entity since he went rogue. Sarah, however, is still one of us, until we know otherwise. I don’t care how brief her time on this team was, she helped us, and without her efforts the MCU would be no more. We owe her.”
Jessica sat back in her chair and folded her arms. “I agree. I did everything I could to find her, but this is the first chance we’ve gotten to find out what really happened to her.”
“I’d like to bring the lass back into the fold,” said Mattock. “She’d be much better off with us than her old shite of a dad.”
“Then what’s our next move?” asked Howard.
It was at this point that Palu smiled. From his laptop he brought up some info on one of the monitors. “The phone that led us to the cemetery stayed in use for another three days. Listed here are the location that calls were made from. Many are from within Greater London.”
Howard scanned the list and looked for something to jump out at him. “Are any of these rural areas, or maybe even industrial parks?”
Palu went back to his laptop and spent a few minutes without saying anything. Eventually, he spoke. “There are none rural, but there were six calls made from an area named Leeson on the outskirts of Watford. It’s listed as having several warehouses and factories in the vicinity.”
“Any of them abandoned?”
Palu tapped in some more commands then looked up with an eyebrow raised. “Yes. M.Hickman Springs has been listed as untenanted for over eighteen-months.”
Mattock looked at Howard. “You thinking it’s some sort of hideout?”
“If Major Stone is a wanted man he needs somewhere to lay low. This warehouse might be where he’s going to ground between missions.”
Mattock put his hands on the desk, went to stand up. “I’ll get a team together.”
Howard waved him back down. “No. I don’t think we should go in hard. I don’t want to risk Sarah being a casualty. I’ll go in alone.”
“No, you bloody won’t,” said Jessica, more partial nowadays to British slang than her own American. “You don’t know how many men Major Stone has with him. It’s a foolish idea.”
“If Sarah is there, I can get to her in private and try to find out what’s going on. If Krenshaw is there, going in quiet is far better than provoking a firefight. If he unleashes another of his diseases then at least only I run the risk of being exposed.”
“You’re assuming Krenshaw is free to act. He is a captive of Major Stone.”
Howard grunted. “I’m not assuming anything after what I’ve been through today.”
Mattock still looked ready to get up and leave, but he waited for Palu to speak. “Your call, guvnor.”
Palu let out a deep sigh and knitted his fingers together. “This has been a very long day for you, Howard. Are you sure you wouldn’t like to sit this one out?”
“I’m fine. I’ll rest after I speak with Sarah.” He took a deep breath and let it out in a long, drawn out sigh. “Look, I brought Sarah into the MCU, and if she’s in trouble then it’s my fault. I need to get to her.”
Director Palu shook his head. “You’re not going alone. Take Jessica with you as back up and stay in radio contact with Mattock’s team who will remain close by. The moment things even look like they’re turning sour, Mattock moves in.”
“Jessica doesn’t have the experience for this,” said Howard.
Jessica didn’t react because she probably agreed with him. She’d only been on a handful of missions, and none had gone flawlessly, although she had handled herself well in all.
“I know Jessica is a little green,” agreed Palu, “but if you’re having to watch out for her, you’re less likely to take risks. That’s why she’s going with you.”
Jessica spoke up now. “I want to see Sarah safe and sound as much as you, Howard. You need backup.”
“Okay, fine, but I’m leaving now, so get ready.”
“I’d suggest wearing a vest,” said Mattock. “Major Stone’s men are trained warriors and I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if they’re well-armed.”
“Yes,” said Palu. “I expect you all back here alive, so prepare for the worst.”
Howard got up and went over to the door. “One thing you can never prepare for is the worst.”
“Then prepare for lots of highly trained psychopaths trying to kill you,” said Mattock.
Howard smirked. “Now that I can prepare for.”
He left, taking Jessica with him.
13
Sarah lay on a cot bed in an oily room full of sharp edges. Perversely, she missed the comfort of the mock bedroom her father had held her in for the four months prior. Originally, the cot bed had been side-by-side with several others in another room, but Ollie had dragged it into a separate room for her to get some privacy away from the men. She didn’t know if it was a condescending gesture or one of kindness, but she couldn’t deny that she would not have enjoyed sleeping next to the likes of Rat. Not that she could sleep particularly well on her own either. In the windowless darkness, she couldn’t even make out her own arm in front of her. It was cold and her skin was grimy, both things non-conducive to sleep, yet she had managed a few hours during the early hours of morning and was fading off again.
Before she had chance to sleep more, she was eventually snapped awake from the gruff holler of her father’s voice. She sat up on the bed, disorientated and groggy. The back of her throat and nose seemed fused together and her eyes wept with tiredness, but she was a solider, and as any soldier was trained to do, she shook the cobwebs free and got her head in the game. She pulled on her boots and slipped out into the warehouse’s main floo
r, where she realised that she was the last to arrive. The other men noticed her tardiness but said nothing. Her father, however, glared. The group were all dressed in their civvies, ready to blend in with the crowds.
Dr Krenshaw had been brought before them and looked remarkably well for a prisoner. Despite his ordeal, he was smartly dressed and still had his briefcase. The man’s colourless eyes were unmoving above the bony crags of his cheeks and for a moment he took on that familiar corpse-like appearance. This was the man MCU wanted, which meant he was dangerous. She had helped a fugitive escape custody and was now about to smuggle him out of the country.
Rupert nodded to Sarah and handed her a bottle of water, which she swigged from gladly. Spots and Graves blanked her, standing to attention already as they eagerly awaited instruction. Rat, as always, shot daggers at her. His shoulder was patched up beneath his shirt, causing a bulge, but he no longer favoured it. The glazed look to his eye was probably due to whatever strong painkiller he had also taken yesterday.
“We won’t be coming back here,” said Major Stone. “So if you want it, bring it. Ollie has our exit packages. Get your papers and be ready to leave in ten.”
Sarah hung back while the men gathered around Ollie. The last time she had served alongside men like these, she had been their captain. Now she attempted to remain unnoticed, feeling completely out of her depth. When the group dispersed, Ollie nodded at her to come over. He held out a bundle of papers, which she took, surprised to see that it was a passport with her face and first name but a different last name — Reid.
“It’s fool proof,” Ollie told her.
“How did you get these so quickly?”
“One of your father’s contacts in the city. I went out and got them while the rest of you slept.”
“You must be knackered?”
Ollie smiled. It wasn’t just his hair that was grey but his entire face, yet he seemed to beam bright whenever he smiled, and he had the same glinting emerald eyes of her father. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in ten years.”
Sarah ran a finger over her scars. “Yeah, I get that.”
Banded together with the passport was a one-way ticket to Libya and a credit card in the name of Sarah Reid. Whoever her father’s contact was possessed impressive speed and skill.
Dr Krenshaw headed after her father as he marched towards the warehouse’s exit and Sarah frowned, thinking the so-called prisoner should be tied up or under guard. Her father was walking with Krenshaw casually like an old friend. They even seemed to be chatting.
“What did Krenshaw do?” Sarah asked Ollie.
“Made a bunch of people sick. Did you catch the news about the Ebola outbreak in Reading? That was him. I hear your mates at the MCU are after him.”
Sarah nodded. “I ran into one of them. Krenshaw must be pretty bad if MCU are hunting him down.”
“He’s just about the worst,” said Ollie. “The type of coward who relies on viruses and diseases to do his dirty work deserves to be put down.”
“So what the hell are we doing with him? Why are we getting in the way of his capture and punishment?”
Ollie laughed and patted her on the shoulder, leaving his hand there and saying, “For the money.”
Sarah screwed her face up. “There has to be more to this than money.”
“Not really. Money allows us to be choosier with our next mission. We can’t always fight the good fight, Sarah.”
“There is no good fight if we help men like Krenshaw evade capture.”
“Life isn’t black and white. I wish it was because then I would know if I was one of the good guys or one of the bad. Tell you the truth, I think I might be a little bit of both, but my intentions lean in the right direction. I’m sure you understand that.”
Sarah hated to admit it but she did. “I guess we should just try to be more good than bad.”
Ollie headed off in the direction her father had gone. Sarah realised she was the only one left in the warehouse now and considered the prospect of staying behind. Sure, Howard had seen her and she had impeded his operation, but she knew the man. Howard would listen if she went to him, but doing so would betray her father. If she did that, she wasn’t so sure she would get to carry on living. She was under no illusion that her father lacked the ability to show affection, but she had begun to feel that he could at least grow to respect her. Betraying him now would undo all she had accomplished in the last twenty-four hours.
She just couldn’t do it. Her father had served his country a lifetime longer than she had and it would be wrong to second-guess his motives. He said he was doing what was right, and she had no reason to doubt him. Killing bad guys had been her father’s entire life, placed ever above his own personal desires. Major Stone deserved trust, not just from her but from anybody who ever served under him.
Sarah swallowed her doubts and hurried out of the warehouse, where everyone else was gathered in the floodlit courtyard. The sky overhead was black and the wind whistled through the battered drainpipes of the building. Krenshaw climbed inside the back of one of the jet black vans of his own volition, a leather briefcase clutched tightly against his chest. Rat and Graves hopped in beside him. Ollie took the driver’s seat of the second van while Spots and Rupert jumped in the back and pulled closed the sliding door.
Sarah’s father came up beside her and motioned to the long-snouted e-type Jaguar. “You’re riding with me,” he said.
“Wow, okay.” As a child, Sarah had not even been allowed to look at her father’s prized classic, so to be getting inside of it was an honour, yet she couldn’t help but bring something up. “A little conspicuous, don’t you think? Aren’t we about to flee the country?”
“Plates are false and the car is registered to a ghost. It’s more conspicuous to be driving around in a pair of black vans that have already been spotted by the MCU, which is why the men can go ahead and we’ll follow behind.”
“I’m honoured to be in the non-expendable car,” she said.
Her father grunted. “Don’t be. I know that if my men get captured they won’t speak. I want you with me.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “God, you can’t consider me as anything but a liability, can you? Is it just because I’m a woman, or is there more to it?”
“It’s just because you’re a woman.”
Sarah’s mouth dropped open, but anything she was about to say was cut off by the roar of the Jaguar’s engine. The two black vans headed out of the courtyard and her father began to follow. They were just about to head out onto the main road, when they were forced to slam on the brakes.
Three black Range Rovers skidded in front of the courtyard’s exit, blocking any escape.
Major Stone gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Damn it! It’s your friends from the MCU. Did you contact them?”
Sarah growled. “No, I didn’t.”
Sergeant Mattock and a group of men she didn’t recognise leapt out of the Range Rovers and immediately aimed their assault rifles. The sides of the two black vans opened up and Sarah’s father’s men leapt out and opened fire. Krenshaw scurried into cover near the warehouse but couldn’t get inside since the door had locked behind them. Under the harsh glare of the floodlights, he looked once again like a grimacing corpse.
Sarah ducked down beneath the dashboard. Her father opened his door and slid out into cover behind it, pulling out his Colt Commander and letting off a series of eardrum-busting shots.
“I’m not armed,” Sarah said, flinching as more gunfire rattled the very air around her.
“Why the hell not?” her father demanded.
“We’re heading to the airport,” she said. “I didn’t think guns were appropriate.”
“In the glove compartment.”
Sarah flinched as the windscreen shattered and rained glass on her. “What?”
Her father bellowed at her. “In the goddamn glove compartment.”
Sarah fiddled with the catch and yanked the glove compar
tment open. Inside was a Mac-10 and two magazines. An unwieldy and unsophisticated weapon, but perhaps the ideal thing to keep hidden inside a glove compartment. She punched one of the magazines into the handle of the snub nosed machine pistol and crawled out into cover. Bullets pinged the classic Jaguar and she could almost hear her father wince every time it was hit. The MCU were raining down Hell on them. Major Stone’s men gave the same in return, letting off round after whizzing round from their own pistols and revolvers.
Sarah snuck a peek over the car door she was kneeling behind and saw Sergeant Mattock. He was aiming shots carefully, not, as yet, lining up kill shots, seemingly more interested in suppressing the enemy than killing him. It was a stupid tactic and not something Mattock would not do ignorantly. Ollie was blind-firing around the back of one of the vans, squeezing his eyes shut in fear as he pulled the trigger on a shiny revolver. He might not have been the solider the rest of the men were, but he was keeping his ground all the same. Rat was an entirely different animal. He was smiling gleefully as he unloaded round upon round into one of the MCU’s black Range Rovers. Spots and the older man, Graves, had similar expressions on their faces, but her father’s final man, Rupert, was completely blank, returning fire like a robot and showing no emotion of any kind. Sarah had seen men like him before, the ones who entered a daze under fire and let their training take complete charge of their actions. A pure soldier — not good, not evil, just thoroughly trained to do a job.
“Sarah, take the blighters out,” her father shouted at her from the other side of the car, bellowing through the open interior.
Sarah looked at the Mac-10 in her hands and realised she was in a firefight. She couldn’t stay in cover while her comrades took heavy fire. She was going to have to get involved. It was time to commit herself to her new family. She leapt up and pulled the trigger.
Mattock didn’t see her until it was too late.
14
Summer, 1987
“Sarah, dinner in one hour.”
Eight-year-old Sarah ran through the living room and into the kitchen where her mother stood in front of the stove. The air was hot, from both the bright sunlight coming through the window and from the heat coming from the cottage’s Aga. They had lived there less than a year, after having decided to lay down roots, instead of moving all over the world with her daddy. Sarah loved her new home and had even made a friend at school. Her name was Holly and her parents were farmers. Sometimes, Sarah even got to spend time with her daddy, who was home at the moment for two whole weeks. Her daddy was a brave soldier.
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